Summery: Dawn decides to see her vampire.

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, I’m just playing.

Author’s note: Special thanks to BTL who is just fab and puts up with my cliff hangers on a regular basis.

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Chapter 6: Stealth Girl

Dawn kicked a chair, expressing her frustration at the fact that Benjamin Halloway, medical student, didn’t seem googleable. It was like he didn’t exist period. She’d tried every combination, web site, and search engine and still turned up empty handed.

“Gah!” she screamed into the quiet recesses of her large house.

“Problems?” came a voice from the front door. The sun had just set, so she shouldn’t have been surprised that he was there.

“What do you want?” Dawn snapped at the tall, dark, and broody vampire.

“Wanna know why you don’t like me,” he said.

“Not much to tell. You hurt my...you hurt Buffy, ergo, I don’t like you.”

“How did I hurt Buffy?” he asked with a frown. “I would never hurt Buffy.”

“’Cause you love her, right?” Dawn countered with a raised eyebrow. “Right. Doesn't cut it with me. Need something more, lots of something more. You aren’t the long haul guy.”

“The long haul guy?”

“Yep, not you. Go figure,” she said trying to smile. “Why are you here again?”

Angel was hesitant and gave a sigh before answering.

“I wanna know the future.”

Dawn gave a snort, shaking her head at him. “Oh ya, obsession of yours. Why don’t you go look up Drusilla? She’s a seer, don’t you like that cryptic stuff?”

“She’s crazy.”

“Compliments of you,” Dawn snapped back and was glad to see Angel flinch. “You know she’s in town, and sick. Why don’t you go cure her? I’m sure that would help your guilty soul.”

“What do you know about my soul?” Angel growled at her.

“A lot more than you do at this point.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m ... from...the future,” Dawn carefully pronounced.

“Ya, I’ve heard about it a time or two.”,” Angel answered back, doing his best to try and appear menacing.

“Ya, scary. Along with the brooding. You’ll find that you can’t get all grr with me and have me cower in terror. I would have given anything to see you and Spike all grr last night though.”

“Why? What do you know?” Angel quickly asked.

“Lots.”

“Would you stop being all cryptic?”

“Nope,” smirked Dawn. “No matter what you do, I won’t be telling you anything. You see, Buffy, no matter what I do, what I say, she’s still gonna be stubborn and bossy and still gonna be in love with you. It’s completely hurl worthy. And therefore you should go, before I start retching.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I don’t like you.”

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After Angel left, Dawn kicked around a few pieces of furniture before heading out into the night. Angel had got her really miffed. The brooding wonder made her as mad as Cordelia did. They were perfect for each other.

She had to go find her vampire.

The vampire that had protected her, cared for her. The one that called her Nibblet.

Was it smart?

God no, but she was going to do it anyway.

She stepped outside and headed towards the factory, her feet knowing the way even though she’d never actually been there.

Dawn was only a few blocks from the factory when she started to get nervous. Would she be able to get close to Spike?

Would Drusilla block her path?

The first minion Dawn encountered was dusted with ease. Dawn Summers had been trained by the best of the best over the course of her many lifetimes.

Dawn climbed up on the roof and positioned herself at the skylight, looking down at the floor of the factory and more importantly at Spike, who was ordering about minions.

Spike.

Dawn dropped down to the ground and looked around at the main entrance to the factory and the sentry posted there. Dawn had a feeling that this minion was the only one Spike had guarding the entrance.

Digging her stake from out of her waistband, she stood ready for another confrontation. She walked up to the sentry and glared at him.

“I want to see Spike,” Dawn stated firmly, drawing the sentry’s attention.

The vampire looked back at her with an obvious leer, as he curled his lip. It was really very gross.

“Is that so?”

“Yep,” Dawn replied trying to ignore the looks she was getting, like she was a good meal and a good fuck in one package. “Please take me to your Master.”

“I think I’d like you keep me company for a while,” he spewed. “Master Spike’s got his own lay. I could use some of what you’re offering.”

“Ewww!” Dawn shuddered. “Caveman much?”

The vampire stepped forward, his arm reaching out to touch her long brown hair. Dawn didn’t even step back to cringe. The moment he got close enough, the stake she held in her hands was embedded into his chest.

She dusted herself off and opened the door to the factory, surprising a few minions by her appearance.

“How about you guys take me to Spike?” she asked, looking at the assembled minions.

Three minions rushed her, tackling her to the ground. Clearly, this was going to be harder than she thought. As she expertly fought the three off, staking one, and breaking the arm of another, there was chuckling further into the factory.

Spike was watching her, and apparently enjoying himself at her expense.

Dawn elbowed the remaining vamp in the nose, breaking it and stepped towards the Master vamp with purpose.

“They do something to piss you off, pet?” Spike asked stepping towards her.

“They wouldn’t take me to see you,” she said meekly.

Spike definitely was more gorgeous up close and personal than in her faded memories. Memories that were mainly feelings, rather than images.

“And what can I do for you?” he asked looking her up and down.

Dawn wiped a trickle of blood off of her split lip, and looked up meeting his eyes.

“I have a proposition for you and eww, not that kind of proposition so keep your eyes to yourself buddy. I’ve got info for you. I’m from the future and if you help me out, I’ll tell you about things in your future that you should know about,” she rushed through nervously.

She never thought she’d be nervous around Spike. But this was ‘evil, no soul, no chip’ Spike, ‘who wasn’t in love with her sister, yet,’ Spike. She didn’t know how he was going to react to that news.

“You’re from the future?” he asked with pointed look.

“Yep, me all future girl. Ask me anything. I’ll attempt to prove it. I seem to have to do that for everyone.”

“I’m up for a bit of fun, go ahead prove it,” he challenged with a smirk. “What happened last night after I got back from the bloody school?”

Dawn smiled. This wasn’t a challenge.

“You killed the Anointed One and then you and Dru watched some tv,” Dawn responded.

“By golly,” Spike started, clapping his hands. “You must be from the future, there’s only thirty or so minions who knew that.”

A laugh erupted from Dawn’s lips. Sarcastic Spike was funny.

“You really aren’t making this easy,” Dawn answered back.

“Maybe I don’t want to.”

“Now you are being a brat,” she countered.

“Oy, who’s calling who a brat?” he pouted.

“Oh, don’t pout. The Big Bad pouting? You so can’t pull it off. Enough chit chat though. Sooner, rather than later I hope, I’ll have someone I will need killed...”

“And you, what? Want me to do your dirty work? Am I supposed to work for you now?”

“I didn’t think you’d have a problem with that,” answered Dawn, a little taken aback. “You’re still souless and chipless.”

“Chipless?” Spike questioned. “Souless?”

Dawn giggled as Spike’s face contorted as he tried to piece together these new bits of information. “I have babbling disease again,” she said as a way of apologizing.

Spike’s face was so readable, especially to those who knew him. Dawn knew at once that he’d changed his plan of attack, to get more information out of her. Spike quirked an eyebrow at that comment, his swagger bringing himself closer to the enigma of a girl.

“So,” Dawn started expectantly. “Is it a deal?”

“You have a lot to learn about vampires, little bit,” he said reaching out and running a painted fingernail down her arm.

“I know a lot more about vampires than you do, Spike,” Dawn replied in a small voice.

Spike continued to touch her arm, making her increasingly uncomfortable. Such an intimate gesture, it should have been reserved for Buffy, not her.

Even though Dawn no longer found herself ruled by the morality she was brought up with, she had only one way of looking at Spike. Spike was Buffy’s. Buffy was Spike’s. Even after a thousand years, this still held fast in her mind. She stepped back, looking down at the ground all the while wondering why she felt wrong.

“How well do you know vampires, Nibblet?” he responded with a leer.

Dawn looked up from the ground and into the eyes of the vampire before her. Resolutely she pushed him away, giving him a glare for his troubles.

“Not going to happen Spike,” she declared knowing exactly what was going on in his brain.

Monogamy was different for vampires. She had first hand experience with that fact. Yes, Spike was steadfastly attached to Drusilla, his sire, his love, but even a vampire like Spike wasn’t above enjoying his meal to the fullest. It was possible that from the moment he saw her, Spike thought of this nineteen year old body as a feed and a fuck.

Clearly though, the master vampire wasn’t thrilled with his advances being rejected and Dawn found herself whipped around, her neck suddenly bared to the fangs of the vampire she thought of as a brother.

Fear didn’t pass through her, even as she felt him lower his fangs to her skin.

“If you do this Spike,” Dawn whispered into the darkness, “it’ll haunt you.”

“Ghosties don’t bother the dead, bit,” he replied, sinking his fangs into her jugular with enthusiasm.

The feeling of her blood being pulled from her throat was the perfect balance of pleasure and pain, but it being caused by Spike felt intensely wrong.

Her fingers and toes tingled as her body could not circulate oxygenated blood properly.

It felt just the same as the last time she...

Her thoughts circled back, nostalgia overcoming that ’life flashing before your eyes’ moment. Vampires made great lovers. The face of her last vampire lover flashed before her eyes as she crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

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tbc...